Save Secure Crisis Residential Centers in Washington State
- by: Annie Smith (Rosentrater)
- recipient: Washington State Senators and Representatives
Secure Crisis Residential Centers house at-risk youth who have been admitted by law enforcement after they were encountered as runaways or in a dangerous circumstance due to age, location and time of day. We serve families and youth who are in crisis, assessing the family and helping them to find services in the community. We provide family mediation, to help families discuss their issues and learn to communicate more effectively. We also provide a forum for other professionals working with the youth to meet with the youth and family in a safe environment. Most importantly, we work with the youth individually to provide appropriate education regarding the circumstances that have put them in crisis, including education in life skills, communication, drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, self-actualization, self-esteem, sex education, etc. We work with teenagers who have been physically and sexually abused (we are often the ones who are the first reporters and initiators of services), suffer from psychological and emotional conditions, have been neglected, have severe drug and alcohol addictions, are prostituting; we also serve youth who come from average homes and just need help communicating more effectively with their parents. We have literally saved the lives of some of these youth. And now we are facing closure. These kids will now either be served by detention facilities, who do not have the resources to rehabilitate youth, placed back at home where the conflict continues, or they will be released to the streets. With the rise in gang problems in our county and our state, as well as the rise in violent murders of the kids we care for and protect, can we afford to cut this program?
We are a secure facility--yes, kids are being locked up as runaways, which is not a crime. However, if we were not secure, many youth would not be served. The pull of the addictions, their street families and their gangs would send them packing before we could provide help. Many youth find the security of the facility comforting. We cannot hold a youth more that 120 hours (5 days) and we strongly encourage reunification with family before 72 hours. The average number of hours a youth stayed in our program last month was 22 hours. Isn't it worth locking up a runaway briefly if we can change the course of their life?
We are a secure facility--yes, kids are being locked up as runaways, which is not a crime. However, if we were not secure, many youth would not be served. The pull of the addictions, their street families and their gangs would send them packing before we could provide help. Many youth find the security of the facility comforting. We cannot hold a youth more that 120 hours (5 days) and we strongly encourage reunification with family before 72 hours. The average number of hours a youth stayed in our program last month was 22 hours. Isn't it worth locking up a runaway briefly if we can change the course of their life?
We the undersigned:
We hope that you will take into consideration how at-risk youth, their families, law enforcement, detention centers, Family Reconciliation Services, Child Welfare Services, Child Protection Services, and Teen Shelters will be impacted if Secure Crisis Residential Centers are closed. We are a liminal entity, a gateway for services and for life change. These children are fragile. They have suffered so much in their lives and are reaching out for a tree limb in a current--something to keep them from drowning! We are a life preserver in that current.
Yes, SCRC's are more expensive than semi-secure crisis residential centers, which I hear you may choose to reinstate once we are closed. There is a high rate of turnover in these facilities due to low wages and few training opportunities. These youth need to be handled by skilled, experienced individuals or we will only retraumatize them. We in the SCRC's are highly trained in de-escalation skills. Please compare our number of restraints and law enforcment interventions to those of less trained facilities. Also, our facilities offer better supervision due to the arrangement of the unit and in-unit cameras which are monitored 24/7.
How much do you value the lives of our youth? How much do you value their future as productive members of society? How much do you want to spend on their rehabilitation in the future, if you do not want to spend it on them now? Compare their future years in prison, mental health facilities, and drug and alcohol facilities to the money you invest in them now, while they are still malleable. Doesn't it seem worth it, even if money is the only consideration?
Thank you for your time.
Sign PetitionSign PetitionWe hope that you will take into consideration how at-risk youth, their families, law enforcement, detention centers, Family Reconciliation Services, Child Welfare Services, Child Protection Services, and Teen Shelters will be impacted if Secure Crisis Residential Centers are closed. We are a liminal entity, a gateway for services and for life change. These children are fragile. They have suffered so much in their lives and are reaching out for a tree limb in a current--something to keep them from drowning! We are a life preserver in that current.
Yes, SCRC's are more expensive than semi-secure crisis residential centers, which I hear you may choose to reinstate once we are closed. There is a high rate of turnover in these facilities due to low wages and few training opportunities. These youth need to be handled by skilled, experienced individuals or we will only retraumatize them. We in the SCRC's are highly trained in de-escalation skills. Please compare our number of restraints and law enforcment interventions to those of less trained facilities. Also, our facilities offer better supervision due to the arrangement of the unit and in-unit cameras which are monitored 24/7.
How much do you value the lives of our youth? How much do you value their future as productive members of society? How much do you want to spend on their rehabilitation in the future, if you do not want to spend it on them now? Compare their future years in prison, mental health facilities, and drug and alcohol facilities to the money you invest in them now, while they are still malleable. Doesn't it seem worth it, even if money is the only consideration?
Thank you for your time.
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